Tony Jordan (Life on Mars, Hustle) will also pen Dickensian for the channel - the drama is based on the works of Charles Dickens and will see characters from the author's novels cross paths in "the most surprising of ways".

Two further projects in the works at BBC One are Our Zoo - a six-part period drama about the man who created Chester Zoo in the 1930s - and Blackpool creator Peter Bowker's From There to Here - set in the aftermath of 1996's IRA Manchester bombing of the Arndale shopping centre.

"It has been a joy and privilege to commission programmes for BBC One," said Cohen. "I hope audiences enjoy the range and creative ambitions of these new dramas for the channel."